TEDxTupper Lake Program

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WELCOME Dear Guests, Welcome to TEDxTupper Lake! We are thrilled to have you join us in celebrating the powerful ideas and unique perspectives across the Adirondack region. Today’s event features 12 thought-provoking talks by 13 incredible speakers, all centered around the theme of Natural Connections. We invite you to listen with curiosity, reflect deeply, and allow these talks to spark conversations throughout the day.

We also want to extend our heartfelt thanks to The Wild Center, this beautiful venue nestled in the heart of Tupper Lake, and the Adirondack Mountains. This extraordinary space, where humans and nature meet, embodies the spirit of today’s theme. The connections formed and ideas shared here are not only special to the Adirondacks but are vital for fostering a more sustainable and interconnected world.

As you experience today’s program, take a moment to pause and appreciate the tranquility of our surroundings. The peace and beauty of this natural setting offer a perfect backdrop for the ideas shared on the TEDxTupper Lake stage, presented locally and shared far beyond.

Thank you for being part of this experience. We hope today leaves you feeling inspired and deeply connected—to each other, nature, and the world around you.

Warm regards, Jen Hesseltine & Kim Preshoff TED-Ed Innovative Educators Co-organizers, TEDxTupper Lake

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SCHEDULE 1:00 to 2:00 PM Guest Arrival, Registration, and Seating Seating opens at 1:30 PM 2:00 to 3:30 PM Session 1 Welcome: Leanne Favreau and Nick Gunn Speaker Katsitsionni Fox Speaker Michale Glennon Speaker Jenna Audlin Speaker Blake & Tzintzun

Interludes Thawing Trails: Adirondack Skiing Amidst Climate Change Wild Center Creature Feature

3:30 to 4:00 PM Intermission 4:00 to 5:30 PM Session 2 Speaker Tyler Dezago Speaker Keeley Jock Speaker Echo Speaker Cammy Sheridan Speaker Rose Beauchamp

Interludes Video Postcards Sorbet Thai Chi Session with Josy D

5:30 to 7:00 PM Evening Reception Delicious Food, Cold Drinks, Good Conversation, and Awesome People 7:00 to 8:00 PM Session 3 Speaker Randi Renate Speaker Stephanie Ashenfelder Speaker Curt Stager

Interludes Video Postcards

8:00 PM Send off

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MEET OUR SPEAKERS

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KATSITSIONNI FOX

Artist, Filmmaker, and Educator

Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address & A Dish with One Spoon Katsitsionni Fox is an artist, filmmaker and educator from the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne. Her films are focused on empowering stories of resilient Indigenous women. Her award-winning documentary films include Ohero: Kon Under the Husk (2016) and Without a Whisper – Konnon: Kwe (2020).

She directed the Indigenous Women’s Voices Series focused on the healing and empowerment of Native women, released in 2020. Her most recent film is Kanenon:we – Original Seeds, a documentary following three Haudenosaunee women reclaiming their ancient role as seed keepers, regenerating, protecting and rematriating sacred and endangered heirloom seeds for the future generations.

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MICHALE GLENNON

Wildlife Ecologist, Fiber Artist

Wool and Water: Stitching Water’s Story with Fiber Art Michale Glennon is the director of Wool and Water, a project of the Adirondack Watershed Institute at Paul Smith’s College.

Wool and Water is a collaborative project that blends fiber art with scientific information to create visual representations of changing water quality conditions in the Adirondacks and Lake Champlain Basin. Knitting, crochet, weaving and other fiber arts are used to illustrate concepts and trends related to our waterways, and to provide inspiration for their protection.

As a Senior Research Scientist at the Adirondack Watershed Institute, Dr. Glennon uses wildlife as a tool for understanding threats to ecological integrity and watershed health. She helps provide leadership to AWI’s scientific research program, support high quality research opportunities for students, and advocate for science in support of the management and stewardship of the natural resources of the Adirondack Park.

She grew up in Lake Placid, NY and lives in Ray Brook with her husband, Scott, 2 kids, 1 horse, 1 goat, and 1 housecat.

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JENNA AUDLIN Author, Student

Inspiring Youth Engagement in the Adirondacks Jenna Audlin is a high school student and author of The Explore More Challenge, an activity book for kids and families.

They are passionate about encouraging children to explore nature and are pursuing a career in environmental education.

Audlin’s work has already sparked the interest of young readers and outdoor enthusiasts, and they continue to develop new projects aimed at inspiring future generations to connect with the environment in meaningful ways.

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BLAKE AND TZINTZUN

Storytellers, Movement Weavers

We are Nature: Ecocentric Narratives Blake and Tzintzun (both they/them) are two storytellers and movement weavers currently living in the Kaniatarowanénhne/ Upper St. Lawrence River Valley, at the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains, Haudenosaunee Territory. Through their work with the environmental storytelling group Talking Wings, they have organized numerous conferences, curated in person and virtual art exhibitions, and produced visual storytelling pieces that share the voices of Land and Water.

The story-making duo also helped found the nonprofit Talking Rivers, Inc., an organization that educates human communities about the Rights and Rites of rivers and their ecosystems. In collaboration with Talking Rivers, they are currently working with humans across the Adirondack Watersheds to create ecocentric governance systems that meet Nature’s needs.

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TYLER DEZAGO

Musician, Educator, Storyteller

Stories to Tell: Honoring Tradition through Songwriting Tyler Dezago is a fiddler, guitarist, music educator and songwriter rooted in American Traditional Music. As a songwriter, Tyler brings new repertoire to the genre, continuing the tradition of sharing stories centered around place, people, and the adversities they faced.

His current work focuses on the lives of Adirondack people from the last 200 years. His songwriting is detail-rich and brings listeners back in time to the days before the Adirondacks were a vacationland.

He is a member of High on the Hog Stringband and Strawberry Wine Trio and performs regularly across the Adirondacks and Upstate NY.

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KEELEY JOCK

Environmentalist, Climate Justice Fellow

Reviving Wetlands with Indigenous Knowledge Keeley Jock grew up in Akwesasne, as an enrolled member of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe and Mohawk Council of Akwesasne. From her strong belief in the Seven Generations philosophy taught to them at a young age, it moved them to obtaining a B.S. in Environmental Science from Paul Smith’s College, with the dream of doing something bigger than herself in this world. With a keen interest in wetland ecology and botany, Keeley wrote their undergraduate thesis on Indigenous Knowledge informing EPA standard wetland assessments to help improve regulations for highly impacted/less pristine wetlands. As a recent graduate, she is starting off her future with beginning work at ANCA beginning in 2024, as a Climate Justice Fellow through a NYSERDA grant program. Out of the office you may find them skiing, reading, drinking coffee, or picking up any other random hobby.

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ECHO

Artist, Creator, Learner

The Curious Shall Be Rewarded Echo is the co-founder of The Station in Onchiota, NY. The Station is an experimental art space dedicated to amplifying and supporting creative culture. The Station exists to broaden people’s perspectives by introducing them to new experiences, people, and art forms.

Echo has a college degree. However, his primary education comes from a lifetime of participation in DIY culture and various music scenes across America in military bases, suburban wastelands, urban centers, artist communities, off-grid homesteads, and small towns. Raising two amazing teenage boys with his partner probably qualifies him for some kind of Doctorate.

Some of Echo’s regional creations include the Carnival of Light projection art festival, The Invisible Creatures Petting Zoo, and Summer Sessions. In previous versions of his life Echo has worked as a team building facilitator, a construction worker, a DJ, a wilderness trip leader for at-risk youth, a stagehand, a barista, and other odd occupations.

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CAMMY SHERIDAN

Professor of Social Science

Strength in Unity: Transforming Lives through Connection and Support Cammy is a professor and disabilities specialist for North Country Community College. A native of the region, Cammy has a special interest in promoting the well-being of the people who reside in the Adirondacks and finding symbiosis between the natural environment and those who call the Adirondack Mountains home. Cammy has served and continues to serve on various boards such as Lake Placid Board of Education, Essex County Community Services Board, JohnBrownLives! and ADKAction, with focuses on education, mental health, environmental and social issues that impact the Park and its residents. Cammy splits her time between Lake Placid and Upper Saranac Lake, where she skis, paddles, hikes and enjoys the outdoors with her family and friends.

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ROSE BEAUCHAMP

Dance Artist, Improviser, Filmmaker, Activist, Educator Embodied Earth: Reconnecting with the Land through Movement

Rose Pasquarello Beauchamp—dancer, educator, and activist—centers her research somatics, social justice, dance as change agent and the embodiment of activism.

Her choreographic work has been featured internationally for the past 17 years. She has been selected for residencies and projects including the NYS Dance Force Western NY Choreographers’ Initiative. Rose co-founded Artists Coalition for Change Together (ACCT), an organization active from 2016-2020, as a way to engage dancer-citizens in Rochester. She has received multiple grants from the Center for Community Engagement and serves as a Faculty Fellow with a focus on creative work in community-engaged settings. As of late, her creative work has centered on site specific, interdisciplinary work that unearths invisible histories through embodiment. Rose continues to perform and present with a focus on the relationship between the body and the environment, the role the body plays in environmental justice, and climate change.

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RANDI RENATE

Artist, Sculptor, Naturalist

Some Kind of Blue: Neural Design, Art, and Interconnectivity

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Randi Renate was born ‘en caul,’ intact inside the amniotic sac, in San Antonio, TX. Her artwork choreographs bodies within a sculptural framework to investigate how the ‘micro’ of the individual weaves into the ‘macro’ of the collective whole.

Randi received her BFA Studio Art and BA Philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. She is a 2020 MFA graduate of the Sculpture Department at the Yale School of Art. She is the recipient of numerous fellowships including Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, NY, Lighthouse Works on Fishers Island, NY, Bemis Center for Contemporary Art in Omaha, NE, Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT, Santa Fe Art Institute, NM, and Sculpture Space in Utica, NY. Her 2021 permanent public sculpture, “blue is the atmospheric refraction I see you through,” was made in part by a NYS Council of the Arts Grant and featured in Interior Design Magazine, while her 2022 Socrates Sculpture Park commision was featured in Sculpture Magazine.

Randi produces the podcast CORALESCENCE: conversations highlighting the connection between art and science. Her studio practice is currently based in the Adirondacks.

STEPHANIE ASHENFELDER Storyteller, Educator, Artist

Art and Storytelling: Deepening Environmental Connection and Inspiring Climate Action Stephanie’s work centers on socially conscious, interdisciplinary, collaborative projects that integrate art, design, and community building. She co-directs Watershed Movements, which earned a $50K award to fund a yearlong exploration of how storytelling and art might enhance our connection to watersheds. In 2022, her collaboration with students and the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, NY, secured a $100K grant from Verizon and NYC Media Labs for innovative edtech. Her ongoing work on ADKClimateStories.org, aims to promote climate action by highlighting our humanity, sharing and reflecting on the local consequences of climate change.

At the University of Rochester, Stephanie teaches experiential, project-based design courses and serves as the Director of Digital Media Studies. More at stephanieashenfelder.com.

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CURT STAGER

Scientist, Educator, Author

Uniting for Change: The Community Impact of Renaming John Thomas Brook Curt Stager is a scientist, educator, and author whose research and outreach deals with climate change, human connections to the natural world, and environmental history in Africa, the Adirondacks, and elsewhere. His work has been published in prominent journals, including Science and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, his writings for the public have appeared in periodicals such as National Geographic and The New York Times, and he co-hosted Natural Selections, a weekly science program on North Country Public Radio, for 30 years. Curt is also the author of four books, most recently “Still Waters: The Secret World of Lakes.” He currently teaches natural sciences at Paul Smith’s College, where he holds the Draper-Lussi endowed Chair in Paleoecology and Lake Ecology. In 2013, the Carnegie-Case Foundation named him Science Professor of the Year for New York State.

More at wikipedia.org/wiki/Curt_Stager.

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YOUR HOSTS

LEANNE FAVREAU

NICK GUNN

Leanne Favreau is the Interpretive Programs Manager at The Wild Center where she crafts and oversees educational programs that help visitors forge deeper connections with nature. She also helps to design and manage exhibits like Wild Lights and organizes conferences/events, including most recently the Adirondack Building Conference and the Total Solar Eclipse Festival.

Originally from Oswego, NY, Nick Gunn spent every summer camping at Rollins Pond in Saranac Lake. After starting his career in New York City, the mountains came calling.

Now, as Marketing Director at The Wild Center, Nick tells the stories that shine a light on the work around their Tupper Lake campus and beyond.

Joyful, Pond Paddler, Snow Chaser

Outside of work, Leanne’s enthusiasm for the outdoors shines through in her love of paddling, camping, downhill and cross-country skiing, painting, yoga, and stargazing. She’s always on the lookout for new ways to connect with nature and inspire others to do the same.

Connector, Caffeineholic, Girl Dad

In his free time, you can find him listening to podcasts while searching for the best bahn mi sandwich in the North Country.

Nick lives in Saranac Lake with his wife Leah, daughters Tatum and Maeve, and dog Riggins.

TEDxTUPPER LAKE TEAM Daniel Cash - Branding Matt Dickey - Production Leanne Favreau - Planning Teach Paul Frederick - Production Rick Godin - Production & Planning Team Nick Gunn - Planning Team Jennifer Hesseltine - Co-organizer Jen Kretser - Planning Team

Emily Martin - Photographer Kim Preshoff - Co-organizer Sara Paula - Planning Team Anna Stuckey - Attendee Experience Jennifer Tremblay Moore - Communications Kate Tulloch-Hammond - Website Design Kerri Ziemann - Planning Team

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ART & PERFORMERS Eric Sturr has been teaching music of all ages for the last 16 years. Throughout his career he has taught every grade level in East Brunswick Public Schools across seven different schools. Graduating from Rowan University and trained in both jazz and classical piano, he is always trying to create as much as he teaches.

As a composer, his music is currently being played at The Wild Center, one of the top science museums in the United States. His work has been featured on NPR as well as several podcasts. He writes music under the name “Whatever Penny”, which can be found on all major streaming platforms.

From the heart of the Adirondack Mountains, High on the Hog Stringband was born of late nights spent trading southern Appalachian fiddle tunes, country standards, and homemade Adirondack originals. Equally at home under a festival tent or in a living room, the trio of multi-instrumentalists — Bill Chamberlain, Tyler Dezago, and Marion Hoelzel — together bring forth strong driving melodies on fiddle, mandolin, guitar and banjo, often swapping instruments and sharing harmonies.

The trio draws on the simplicity of strings and voice steeped in an authentic musical tradition while adding their own unique sensibilities and perspective.

Josy Delaney is a NYS-licensed massage therapist with a diverse background in health and wellness. She has worked as an exercise physiologist in Cardiac Rehab and a Community Wellness Specialist/Public Health Educator. Additionally, she has served as a technology trainer with Senior Planet from AARP and has been an adjunct instructor at Champlain College since 2015.

From 2015 to 2019, Josy taught Tai Chi for Arthritis and Fall Prevention at the Malone Adult Center. In 2022, she continued teaching Tai Chi in her new hometown of Tupper Lake. Josy is committed to practicing and sharing Tai Chi for the rest of her life.

Aston Ferrillo is a tenth-grader at Northwood School in Lake Placid. His short film, Thawing Trails: Adirondack Skiing Amidst Climate Change, premiered at the 2024 Beyond the Peaks Student Film Festival, a free annual program hosted

by Mountain Lake PBS. The festival empowers teens in New York, Vermont and Quebec to showcase their creativity and talent through the creation of original short films. The festival offers practical experience in filmmaking with free virtual workshops; encourages students’ interests in tech, design, and new media fields by connecting them with professional filmmakers; and helps bring attention to underrepresented art forms in our rural communities.

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ABOUT TED AND TEDX About TED: TED is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to discovering, debating and spreading ideas that spark conversation, deepen understanding and drive meaningful change. Our organization is devoted to curiosity, reason, wonder and the pursuit of knowledge—without an agenda. We welcome people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world and connection with others, and we invite everyone to engage with ideas and activate them in your community. Learn more at TED.com About TEDx: In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.

About TEDxTupper Lake: Hosted at The Wild Center, TEDxTupper Lake is an independently organized event focusing on the natural connections between humans and the world around us. Like the symbiotic relationship seen in the subterranean root networks of trees, TEDxTupper Lake illuminates the interconnectedness between all of us and inspire local discussion around both local and global ideas.

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This event is supported by a grant awarded to The Wild Center by New York State’s Empire State Development and the I LOVE NY Division of Tourism.

The Wild Center’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.